I Lost Our Child Chapter 02
I was sent on a last-minute assignment.
Early the next morning, I packed a bag and hurried to the station with a coworker.
After Thatcher got up, he offered to drive me.
I thought about it for a second, then declined.
“No need. I’ll call a car.”
We were going undercover at a food processing plant in New Jersey.
We were there for a week.
We got the evidence.
But as we were about to leave, the plant manager found out.
He blocked the exit, cornering Sarah and me.
He threatened us.
He grabbed our equipment and smashed it on the floor.
In the struggle, he shoved me hard. I stumbled back into a row of metal shelving.
My forehead slammed against the steel, and blood streamed down my face.
We managed to call the police.
After they arrived, Sarah stayed behind to give her statement.
I was taken to the hospital.
The factory was remote, and the local hospital was small.
Later, I was transferred back to a hospital in New York.
After a series of tests, the doctor stitched up my forehead.
A mild concussion.
The doctor told me to stay for observation.
Sarah stayed with me. “Do you want me to call your family?” she asked. “Have someone come?”
I shook my head.
My parents weren’t in New York. And I had no desire to tell Thatcher.
During that week away, Thatcher had sent me a few messages.
I hadn’t seen them until now.
The next day, I was discharged and went home.
My bangs hid the gash on my temple.
After one day of rest, I went back to work.
The exposé Sarah and I did on that corrupt factory made headlines. The fact that we’d been injured in the process drew even more attention.
The company gave us bonuses and publicly commended us.
When I got home that evening, Thatcher kept looking at me, his gaze fixed on my temple.
He stepped closer, reaching out as if to brush my bangs aside.
I recoiled instinctively.
His hand froze, then slowly fell to his side.
He frowned.
“You were hurt. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I offered a small, empty smile.
“It wasn’t serious. Nothing to make a fuss about.”
Something shifted in his eyes, as if he couldn’t comprehend my response.
But after all the times he’d taken Ava’s side, after he’d been the one to mention divorce, there was nothing left to say.